Oblivion
by phoenixnz
Summary: Clark is depressed. Can his friendship with Lex save him? Rated T for language only. Threeshot.
1. Oblivion

**NOTE: I do not, under any circumstances, condone Clark's behaviour in this story. What he does is dangerous for any normal person, but of course, we know Clark isn't normal. And this is not a slash – there are two other stories which are sequels to this one and are both about the friendship between Clark and Lex. Just thought I'd make that clear. **

Clark threw down his pack in disgust and flopped down on the old sofa, sending up a cloud of dust in his wake.

It had been the day from hell. Chloe wasn't speaking to him. Pete was treating him like he had mono or something. And Lana ... god, Lana. To top it off, he'd had a fight with his parents this morning. It just seemed like he couldn't do anything right lately. With any of them.

Even Lex, his best friend, was too busy to talk to him. After everything that had happened with Lionel, and the wedding preparations, Lex just wasn't there for him.

Clark wanted to cry. But sixteen year old boys (well almost sixteen) don't cry.

He sighed, closing his eyes. In two days it was his birthday. And it just made him more depressed. He was still treated like a geek at school. His parents didn't understand him. His best friends didn't understand him. Nobody really knew him.

It just wasn't fair. Just when he'd thought things were going okay with Lana, something blew up in their faces and they were on the outs again. God, it was like a rollercoaster with all their ups and downs. He just didn't know what to do any more. And Lex was too caught up in his wedding to Helen to be of any help there.

The thing was, around Lana, he could feel normal. Well, quasi-normal. As normal as he could feel, he guessed, given the circumstances..

His parents tried to understand. But the fact was, they could never understand. And no matter how many platitudes his father spouted, like how 'every teenager goes through this phase', Jonathan Kent would never really know what it was like to be different. To be someone who didn't fit in anywhere.

He knew what Chloe would say. That is, if she was speaking to him. "Buck up Clarkbar," she'd say. And Pete would make fun of him – in a friends sort of way.

The powers were the worst part. Every time he developed a new ability, it just served as a reminder that he wasn't 'one of them'.

Lex was probably the closest to being as different, and thus able to understand what he was going through. But Clark always felt guilty every time he saw the evidence of his landing on Earth in his friend. Lex's baldness was just another reminder of what he'd done.

He sometimes thought about telling Lex the truth about himself. But he couldn't face the thought of Lex looking at him with blame in his eyes. And Clark was afraid to tell the truth. He knew Lex would never betray him, or put him in a lab to be studied. Lionel, on the other hand, was perfectly capable of doing such a thing.

And it wasn't just that. If he told Lex the truth, what were the chances that Lex would reject him?

Sometimes he just wanted to make it all go away.

Clark wanted oblivion. Even for just a little while. He wanted to close his eyes and forget the world existed. Or pretend that he didn't exist. And really, would anyone miss him?

His parents' lives would be so much easier if he wasn't around. They wouldn't have to walk on eggshells. They wouldn't have to worry about keeping things secret. Wouldn't have to worry about government scientists, or the likes of Lionel Luthor.

He regretted, sometimes, having watched his parents struggle, what he put them through. And he wondered if he'd been 'normal' whether it would have made it easier for them.

Fighting back tears, brushing the one tear that had dared to escape off his face, he got up from the sofa and went to the desk, pulling out the drawer and staring down at the small lead box

Opening it, Clark grimaced, watching the veins in his hand almost pop as his skin began to turn a sickly colour. Clark swallowed down the nausea, reaching over, feeling his stomach cramping. But the preservation instinct was strong and he dropped the rock almost as soon as he tried to pick it up.

"Clark?"

Jonathan Kent called from the bottom of the stairs. Clark stayed where he was, breathing hard. He sniffed, wiping hi s nose on the arm of his shirt. Sighing, he closed the lid of the box and then the drawer.

"Yeah, Dad," he called.

"Your mother and I are going into town."

"Okay."

"Don't forget your chores."

"Yes sir."

"And your homework."

"Yes sir."

He waited until he heard the truck start up, then looked at the desk. But he knew it wouldn't help. He wouldn't find oblivion that way.

Sighing, he started to unpack his books, but he couldn't concentrate on his work. He was too depressed.

Clark decided to go into the house for a snack. Standing at the pantry door, he stared into space as if that would provide the answers he was looking for. It was then he spotted it. Well, them, really.

Bottles of bourbon. Jonathan usually drank beer, but on the very odd occasion, he liked a little bit of bourbon. It had got him into trouble a couple of times. Especially with Martha.

Clark eyed the bottle, feeling a little like Alice in Wonderland, the character from the book he'd been made to read in grade school. The bottle just seemed to be whispering "Drink Me".

Clark grabbed the bottle. And the full one next to it, then grabbed a cup from the shelf.

He poured a little of the liquid into the cup. It smelled god-awful. He tipped the cup and sipped, making a face.

"Gargh." It tasted as bad as it smelled and it burned going down. He wondered if he had any tolerance to alcohol. Maybe he would find out.

Screwing up his face, Clark stared at the liquid in the cup, then toasted himself.

"Bottoms up," he said. He drank the rest, shuddering grimly.

By the third cup, it was burning less, but he really was beginning to feel like Alice. And it was clear that he had very little tolerance to alcohol. Maybe it was something he would grow into, like his other powers.

By the time he finished the bottle, Clark was like a hippy on an acid trip. He was singing to himself and giggling madly. His vision was swimming. But the alcohol was tasting waaay better.

Halfway through the second bottle, he was on his ass on the floor, when two pairs of feet appeared in front of him. Feet encased in very expensive leather.

Clark looked up, giggling again, at the bald countenance of his best friend. Two best friends. There were two Lex's standing in front of him.

"Heyyy Lex, did you know you got an evil twin?"

"Clark, what the hell are you doing? Are you drunk?"

"Um, nooo!"

"How much have you drunk?"

Clark held up his hand, staring in fascination at the fingers waving in the air, trying to count.

"Ah, one, two, um, what was the question?"

Lex bent down, looking at him with a concerned expression. Or maybe that was just an alcohol-induced hallucination.

"Clark are you crazy? You could kill yourself if you drink too much of this."

Clark shook his head. "Noo, can't," he said. "I'm an exra ... eshra ... um, I'm an ali...um, I'm a freak."

Lex sighed. "Clark, everyone thinks that when they're a teenager."

"But it's tru-u-ue."

Lex stood up. "Clark I'm going to call a doctor. You need your stomach pumped."

Clark tried to rise up in panic. "Nooo, you can't call a doctor. Mom and Dad'll kill me."

"That's if you haven't killed yourself already," Lex stated flatly.

Clark tried moving on his knees to stop Lex as his friend went to pick up the phone. But the room began spinning.

Clark retched. It almost felt like he'd swallowed a meteor rock.

"Don't you dare, Kent."

Clark had no idea what Lex was talking about, but suddenly his head was shoved into a bucket. His stomach heaved. And heaved. And heaved.

And just like that, Clark sank into oblivion. Peace at last, he thought.


	2. Pow-Wow

Pow-Wow

Lex was worried about Clark. One week ago he'd found him drunk – no, not just drunk, completely wasted, on his father's bourbon. He knew Clark had been depressed but this was more than that. As Lex drove slowly down the gravel driveway of the Kent farm, he wondered how he could broach the subject with Clark's parents.

Jonathan came out of the barn, pulling off leather gloves and tossing them onto the workbench as he stared at the car.

"Clark's in school," he said as Lex got out of the car.

"I know, Mr Kent. I actually came to talk to the two of you. About Clark."

Jonathan frowned. Then he gestured toward the house. "Martha?"

Lex followed him into the house. Martha, with that sixth sense of hers, had already put on a pot of coffee. She looked up at him with a ready smile on her face. It was what he liked about Martha Kent. No matter how bad Jonathan saw him, Martha was always ready to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Martha's smile dropped when she saw the serious expression on Lex's face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I think we need to sit down," he said.

"What's going on, Lex?" Jonathan said, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the wooden table.

"Have you noticed anything different about Clark?"

"He's been a little withdrawn lately. A little moody."

"I think it's more than that. The other day I came here and found him on the floor of the kitchen. Drunk. He'd been drinking bourbon."

Jonathan and Martha looked at each other.

"So that's what happened to those bottles," Jonathan said. "I noticed them gone."

"I poured out the rest of the second bottle."

"Are you telling me that Clark drank an entire bottle of bourbon?"

"And he was halfway through the second," Lex told him.

Martha raised her eyebrows. "Clark could have killed himself with that much ..."

"I'm wondering if maybe that was his intention," Lex said.

"He was acting oddly the other day. It was right before we went into town," Jonathan said to Martha.

"He threw up most of the alcohol and passed out. I managed to get him up to bed ..."

"Hmm, he was asleep when we got home. We had a Guild meeting."

"I know. I stayed with him until I was sure he wasn't going to stop breathing. But I just don't understand why he would do something like this. Clark has never done anything like this before, has he?"

"No, not this," Jonathan said slowly.

A memory popped into Lex's head. Of Clark in a two-thousand dollar coat, wanting to borrow the Ferrari. Clark with an attitude. Clark deciding to run away because his parents didn't understand him.

"Hmm."

None of them realised that Clark was home until the screen door squeaked.

"Hey, Lex," he said. "Mom, Dad."

The three of them turned to look at him. He started to fidget at their stares. "What's going on?" he said uncertainly.

"Is there something you want to tell us, son?"

"Ahh," Clark began.

"Clark, your parents know about the other day. About the bourbon."

Clark immediately turned on his friend. "You told them? How could you do that, Lex? I thought you were my friend."

"I am your friend, Clark. I was worried about you."

"Well, this is none of your business," Clark snapped.

"None of my business? Clark, I found you practically comatose on the floor. You could have killed yourself!"

"Yeah, well that would have made everybody's lives a whole lot easier, then wouldn't it?"

Martha gasped. Jonathan stared. Lex choked.

"Clark, you can't mean that."

"Clark, sweetheart, why would you think something like that?"

Martha rushed to his side, trying to pull him into a hug. But Clark immediately pulled away from her.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Clark said, with tears in his eyes. "Your lives would have been a whole lot simpler if you hadn't adopted me." Then he looked at Lex. "Admit it, you wouldn't have had so many problems if I had never come here."

"I would be dead, if it wasn't for you," Lex reminded him.

Jonathan got up and went out the door. Martha looked at Lex. He nodded and went out to join the older man. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Jonathan was crying. This big, tough man was crying.

"It's my fault," Jonathan said.

"Why would you say that?"

"Clark and I had a fight a few days ago. I might have said something like how things would have been different if he was ... if he was normal."

"We both know Clark's special. But what do you mean, if he was normal?"

"It's true, though," Clark said, behind him. "If I was just a normal kid, you wouldn't have half the problems you have. You'd be better off without me."

"That's not true, Clark," Jonathan said.

"But you do think it sometimes," Clark told his father. "You wish I was normal, so I wouldn't complicate your lives."

Lex wanted to shake him, scream at him, but Clark was fragile right now.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm sorry I haven't been here for you when you needed me."

Clark just looked at him, his green eyes tearful. "It's not your fault. You have other things going on in your life."

"That isn't the point," Lex said. "We're friends. You needed me and I didn't see it."

Clark just shook his head. "It doesn't matter. None of it does."

Lex just frowned. "It does matter. I knew something was wrong. Something's been bothering you for some time. I just never saw it. I never took the time to see it. And I should have done. Clark," he said, going to try to pull his friend into a hug. "Believe me, I understand how you feel. I know what it's like to feel different."

Clark just pulled away. "No, you don't. You don't have any idea how I feel. None at all."

"Clark ..." Jonathan called out a warning.

"No, Dad. I'm sick of the lies. I'm sick of always having to hide who I am. What I am. And maybe what that message said is right. Maybe I was sent here to rule."

Lex frowned at him. Clark wasn't making much sense.

"Clark ..."

"No, Lex," he said, his head down, refusing to look at his friend. "If you really are my friend, you'll just stay away from me. Please. People tend to get hurt around me."

Stunned, Lex stared as Clark took off running across the field and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Still with a shocked expression on his face, Lex turned and looked at the elder Kents. Martha, who was standing in the doorway, just looked at Jonathan with a resigned expression.

"I think we need to talk, Lex," she said. "Come inside."

Sitting silently, Lex listened while the Kents told him an incredible story. Of how Clark had been sent from his home planet as a baby, to save him. How they'd found him the day of the meteor shower. How they believed he was the lone survivor of a long dead race. And how, even more incredibly, there had been some kind of message in the ship that had brought him, which Clark had interpreted to mean he was sent to conquer the Earth.

Lex squeezed Martha's hand gently.

"You have to know that I would never do anything to hurt Clark. I would never reveal his secret to anyone."

Jonathan, who had barely uttered a word the whole time, just grunted. Clearly, he still didn't trust Lex, but the way Clark had left had given him no choice in the matter.

"We do trust you, Lex," Martha said, with a glare at Jonathan.

"Look, it's clear that Clark has a serious problem. And I'm not just talking about the message in the ship. I know the two of you have done your best, but I wonder if maybe you might have ... look, I don't want to say it, but don't you think that maybe, just maybe, you might have to bear some of the responsibility for this? It sounds to me like you have forced him to hide who he is all his life, and perhaps this is why he is now feeling the way he does."

"We never meant to hurt Clark," Martha said.

"You don't understand the situation, Lex."

"Oh, believe me, Mr Kent, I do. When I lost my hair, my father put me through a barrage of tests for months. I was poked, prodded, and studied with every instrument available. And still he wasn't satisfied. I know how it feels to be under a microscope. Maybe Clark doesn't believe that, but it's the truth. Yet, I can also see this from your perspective. You've been trying to protect him from that very thing, and it's totally understandable. It's also wrong. It's slowly eroded Clark's self-esteem to the point where he has no confidence in himself and he blames himself for everything that goes wrong in this town. Don't think I don't know about his guilt complex. I've seen his expression every time a meteor freak attacks someone in this town. He feels responsible for it."

"What do you suggest we do, Lex? If he gets caught using his abilities, the government will take him away and he'll be treated ..."

"Like a lab rat," Lex finished. "I know, Mrs Kent. And I'm afraid I don't have the answer for that. But I do know that Clark's activities this year have put him under my father's radar, and believe me, it is the last place I want him to be."

"You saw how he reacted," Jonathan began. Martha looked at her husband.

"Yes, but Clark has always run away rather than deal with his emotions. He's done that ever since he was a little boy."

"But he comes back?" Lex asked.

Martha nodded. "Usually after an hour or so. Once he calms down."

"Then maybe we should wait to see if he comes home," Jonathan suggested. Lex nodded in approval.

But an hour passed, then another, and still Clark didn't come home. And when the day passed into night, and then the next day, Lex and the Kents had slowly come to the realisation. Clark was never coming home. When they learned from Chloe that Clark had broken in to the Torch office at school and taken her class ring – the one with red meteor rock, they knew it for sure.


	3. Metropolis

Metropolis

Jonathan was surprised to see Helen pull up in the driveway. She looked pale as she got out of her car.

"Helen," he said.

"Mr Kent, I ... Look, I know you've been having your problems lately, what with Clark running away, but I thought you should know. Someone broke into my office and stole the blood sample."

Jonathan stared at her, his heart in his throat. "What?"

"I called the police about the break-in but I didn't dare tell them what was stolen. I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "And uh, I'd rather you hear this from me first. Lex and I broke up."

Helen bit back a disgusted snort. She'd been crazy to agree to the marriage in the first place, but she'd had her eye on the prize. Lex's money. But Lex had become obsessed with finding Clark, spending all his time in Metropolis chasing up leads. It felt as if he cared more about Clark than he did about her.

The blood had been her bargaining chip with Lionel. Marry Lex, make sure he met with an 'accident' on the honeymoon, then use the vial of blood to ensure her inheritance. She hadn't counted on this theft. She didn't really care about the blood, but she wanted to see ... needed to know if Jonathan had been behind its theft. But judging from the expression on his face, he was even more worried knowing some unknown person had taken the blood.

She knew without that blood she had nothing. Not even evidence of Clark's differences.

Jonathan watched her leave, then bit his lip. He downed his tools and went inside to grab the keys to his truck.

"Martha? I'm just going out for a bit."

Martha didn't answer, but he guessed she was probably busy doing laundry. She seemed to be inventing a lot of chores to do just to keep herself busy and her mind off Clark. It had been a month since Clark had run away and she had barely mentioned his name.

Lex stared at the graffiti on the wall. They all looked like Kryptonian symbols – very like those in the cave. Frederick Walden had just burst out of the cell he'd been kept in, chanting 'The day is coming' over and over. What that day was, Lex didn't know. But now that he knew Clark's secrets, he had a fair idea who it involved.

Walden had disappeared shortly after going to the Kent Farm and confronting Clark's parents. But he'd been sorely disappointed to learn that Clark wasn't there. He'd threatened to expose Clark to the world. Martha had protested that she didn't know where Clark was and even if she did, she wouldn't tell Walden. The man had then left the farm, without what he'd come for and vanished off the face of the Earth.

Helen had walked out but somehow Lex couldn't find it in him to be sorry about it. He realised that he and Helen would have been married two or three weeks by now, but he didn't miss it. In a way, he was glad of the wake-up call. Especially after he'd learned of some interesting conversations between Lionel and Helen.

Lex returned to the mansion, hoping there might be an email from the private investigator he'd hired to look for Clark. He was surprised to find Jonathan waiting in the courtyard.

"Lex," the blonde man said shortly. He looked in a foul mood.

"Mr Kent."

"I just had a visit. From Helen. She told me something very interesting, Lex. About a break-in at her office."

Lex nodded and walked into the mansion, gesturing for the older man to follow him. He made his way to the study, going to the bookcase and opening the secret panel. It revealed a keypad and he touched a combination of keys, opening the safe. He could feel Jonathan's sharp blue eyed gaze on him as he took a box out of the safe.

"I took this from Helen's office. Why didn't you tell me she had a vial of Clark's blood?"

Jonathan took the box from him silently.

"You did break into her office," he breathed.

"And thank you for not coming right out and accusing me. I've had reason to believe that Helen has been working for my father all along. I took it to ensure it stayed out of Lionel's hands. The last thing we need is for Lionel to know of Clark's uniqueness."

"You did this to protect Clark?" Jonathan asked.

"Of course I did."

Jonathan sighed. "I'm sorry, Lex. This thing with Clark disappearing. It's got us all feeling the strain."

Lex nodded. He went to the laptop on his desk, opening it up and waiting for it to warm up.

"How is Mrs Kent?"

"She barely even looks at me. It feels almost as if she blames me for Clark running away."

"It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault," Lex supplied. "Except maybe mine."

"That's ridiculous, son," Jonathan said.

The endearment was probably unconscious on Jonathan's part, but it warmed Lex to hear it. The truth was, in the past month, he'd grown closer to the older couple. Clark's problems had brought them together and they'd begun trusting him more and more. Allowing him to wear the costs of trying to find Clark and bring him home, because Lex wouldn't hear of it any other way. The last thing he wanted, or needed, was for the older couple to bankrupt themselves due to pride.

"Why is it ridiculous?" Lex answered finally. "Perhaps if I hadn't pushed Clark for his secrets ... I forgot, you see, that true friendship isn't about secrets. But then, I've never really had anyone I could call a friend."

No one since Duncan, and look how that turned out, Lex thought bitterly, remembering the young man he'd befriended at Excelsior. The young man he'd turned on because he'd wanted the bullying to stop. Because he'd subscribed to the old adage – 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'. Then, of course, there had been Amanda. And she'd killed herself rather than live with the guilt of having killed the only man she'd ever loved. In self defence.

He felt Jonathan's hands on his shoulders. Warmth. Comfort.

"This is not your fault, Lex. We all made mistakes. We didn't see that Clark was hurting. And Clark couldn't confide in us."

Lex bent his head, not wanting the elder man to see the emotion on his face. He happened to glance at the screen of his laptop and saw an email from the private investigator.

_Lex,_

_I have found your quarry. He is going by the name of Kal at a local dance spot called Atlantis._

Lex stared up at Jonathan Kent, hope on his face. "I know where Clark is," he said. "I'm going to Metropolis and I'm going to bring him back. I promise."

"Lex, don't do anything rash. If he's on Red Kryptonite ..."

"I know the risks. That's why I'm taking this." Lex picked up a lead box from the glass table that served as his desk. He opened it, showing it to Jonathan. "I remember what you told me about last time Clark was on this stuff. It may be the only way to stop him. To bring him home."

"There may be another way," Jonathan told him.

"You cannot be thinking of making a deal with Jor-El," Lex said. "That's like making a deal with the devil."

"It's not like I haven't done so before," Jonathan reasoned. "For Clark."

"That was Lionel. This is different. Please. Just let me try this my way. If it doesn't work, then we'll try it your way."

Jonathan nodded. "Okay, Lex. But be careful. I don't want you getting hurt, son. Martha would kill me if anything happened to you." It was a weak joke, but Lex smiled anyway.

He drove to Metropolis and left the car at his penthouse apartment. He changed his clothes into something appropriate for clubbing, although nowhere near the leather pants and silk shirt combo he'd often worn.

Atlantis was fairly new. He'd only been there once, a couple of years ago. The music was not to his taste. At least, not since he'd been in Smallville. Lex wondered if that meant he was too old for this crowd.

The bouncer at the door saw the green Lex handed him and waved him on through, amid protests from the kids in line. But he was a Luthor and he had always had little trouble getting in to places like this. The nightclub was as bad as he remembered it. Crowded, noisy and full of jailbait. He wondered how long it would be before Clark would show.

He didn't have to wait long. Sipping a drink, he watched as Clark came in, or rather swaggered in, smirking confidently. He was with a girl probably about five years older than him. Lex studied him. Clark was dressed all in black, reminiscent of the first time Clark had been out of his mind on Red Kryptonite. The combination was sexy and designed to attract attention. It was doing exactly that. Every woman in the room was glaring daggers at Clark's companion. Even the men, it seemed, wanted Clark. But he had eyes only for Lex, having spotted him as soon as he walked in.

"Well, if it isn't Lex fucking Luthor," he sneered as he approached. "Come to drag me back to Hicksville?"

"Clark, I just want to talk."

"The name is Kal!" Clark growled.

The woman he was with draped herself over him. "Kal, let's dance."

Clark shook her off, to her annoyance. "Beat it. I'm talking to my friend here." She tried again and Clark shoved her away, none too gently. "I said fuck off."

"That hurt! Jerk!"

Clark smirked and gestured at the bartender. Lex turned and looked at the bartender. "You serve him and you're looking at a hefty fine. He's under age."

"Always looking out for me, that it Lex?" Clark smirked. He turned back to the bartender. "Ignore him and give me vodka. Now!"

The man looked from Lex to Clark, then shook his head. "Sorry, Kal. My job's worth more than that."

Clark glared at Lex. "You fucking hypocrite!"

"Call me all the names you want, Clark, but you're leaving with me. Now!"

"Go to hell!"

"The attitude won't wash with me. Your parents are worried about you and so am I!" Lex glared at him. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Clark smirked at him. "What are you going to do, Lex? Use the Kryptonite in the lead box in your pocket? Don't think I didn't x-ray. I could be out of here before you even got the box out."

"So why aren't you running now?" Lex asked pointedly.

"Maybe I like this game," Clark told him. "Maybe I like knowing that I've got power over you for once."

"Is that so?" Lex smirked, nodding imperceptibly.

From behind Clark, a man approached, holding just a sliver of Kryptonite. Clark immediately began to turn pale, even in the dim lighting of the club. He began to look weak in the knees, his hand on the bar the only thing holding him up.

"Your parents told me you have a problem with seeing through lead," Lex told Clark. "Good to know they were right about this. The box was just a decoy."

Clark stared up at Lex, in obvious pain. Lex reached for Clark's hand, snatching the ring off his finger.

"Now you and I are going to leave here and we are going to talk," he told Clark.

Clark looked defeated and miserable. Lex nodded at his man, who nodded back and handed him the stone without a word. Lex hadn't told his man anything. It wasn't that he trusted him. But he had information on the man that could cause serious problems if Lex ever decided to release it.

Clark began to appear sufficiently recovered. Lex grabbed his arm before Clark could run away again and walked with him out of the club. He caught a cab back to the apartment.

Clark had been silent the entire journey, staring at the ground. He continued to look away from Lex as they stood in the apartment.

"Clark, look at me." Clark refused to comply. "Look at me, damn it. Now what the hell is going on with you? A month ago I find you drunk, then you decided to run away."

"It's like I said," Clark told him miserably. "Everything would have been easier for everyone if I had never come here."

"You can't honestly expect me to believe that," Lex answered.

"Why not? It's the truth. You wouldn't be bald, Lana's parents wouldn't be dead, and my parents ..."

"How are those things your fault, Clark?"

"I caused the meteors."

Lex laughed. Clark stared at him, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. "Clark, do you hear yourself? You caused the meteors? What did you do? Attach them mentally to your ship? Last I heard, telekinesis wasn't one of your abilities."

"It's not funny, Lex."

"It is, Clark. In fact, it's ludicrous. The meteors were radioactive pieces of your homeworld, Clark. Of Krypton. They're nothing but debris from the cataclysm that apparently caused the destruction."

"It still caused your baldness," Clark pointed out. "It still killed Lana's parents."

"Maybe so, but it also compensated in other ways. At least for me. I haven't been sick a day in my life since the meteor shower. Not even asthma. And believe me, I was a very sick little boy. So I count it as a blessing, not a curse. As for what happened to Lana's parents – you can't reverse time and save them. What happened to them was just chance. And maybe something else would have happened. Maybe there would have been a car accident on the way home. Or there might have been a fire at their home. Are you going to claim responsibility for that too. You are not responsible for their deaths, no matter what you think."

"What about my parents? Their lives would be so much easier."

"Would they? Clark, think about this. Because of you being in their lives, your parents got the chance to be parents. And whatever that ship did to heal your mother, she now has the chance to have another child. Your parents love you, Clark. And they wouldn't change the day they found you for anything. As for their financial difficulties, they would have had those whether you were there or not. In fact, they might have lost the farm years ago if it wasn't for you."

Clark sighed, sinking down on the couch.

"It's just ... I wish I was normal."

Lex sat beside him. "Clark, we have to take the hand that Fate deals us. And somewhere along the line, that fate decided you would have these abilities. And that you would be destined to do something with them."

"Like rule the world?"

"That's not up to Jor-El, Clark. That's up to you. And I know you don't have it in your heart to do that. It's not who you are."

"I'm destined to be alone," Clark moaned. "No matter how I feel about Lana, I can never tell her ... it's always going to come between us."

"If Lana really cares about you, then she won't let that happen."

"She wants to know the truth. I can't give her that."

Lex sighed. "Clark, I've learned one very important lesson in the last few weeks. It's that people keep secrets for a reason. I didn't understand that before. I kept pushing for answers that you couldn't give me, and you might have felt that I made it a condition of our friendship. I'm sorry for that. I never meant it that way. And if Lana continues to make you feel that way, then perhaps she's not the one for you. I know I've encouraged you to go after her, and there's nothing wrong with that, if it's what you really want. I don't think you're destined to be alone. I think that there's someone out there who will accept you for who you are. Who will love you for the good person you are, not for your abilities."

"You think so?" Clark asked, finally brightening.

Lex grinned. "You bet. And I'll make you a deal. When it happens, when you find that person, I will be there with you. Stuff of legends, remember?" He nudged Clark with his elbow, making the brunet laugh.

2012

Clark stood nervously waiting at the front of the church, dressed in a tux.

"Hey, relax, she'll be here."

Lex nudged him and smiled.

"Is this where you say I told you so?" Clark smiled shakily.

"Consider it said," Lex grinned.

They'd remained the best of friends through the years. Through the ups and downs of Clark's relationship with Lana. Through his first meeting with his bride-to-be. Through a second meteor shower, the coming of Zod, Doomsday, Zod again, and finally Darkseid. With Lex's encouragement, Clark had become Superman, the hero every citizen of Metropolis looked up to. Lex had often said that Clark was his conscience, but it was mutual. Together, they were stronger.

Lionel had died years ago. Not from the liver disease he'd been diagnosed with, but from a heart attack. Clark had been there for Lex, grieving for a father who had never shown love. And Lex had become even closer to Clark's parents, until they considered him a second son.

Lex turned and glanced at Martha and Jonathan, who were sitting with Hannah, Clark's nine year old sister. He winked at her and she blew him a kiss, just as the strains of the organ began to play. Lex heard Clark inhale deeply as the doors opened and Lois Lane began to walk down the aisle, escorted by her father.

Just as Lex had predicted years ago, Clark had met the one woman who had never treated him any differently for his abilities. When they'd met, Clark had often complained how annoying she was, how she drove him crazy. She still drove him crazy, but for completely different reasons.

Lex himself had met his own match. In Lana. After Lana and Clark had broken up for good, Clark had encouraged Lex to act on his own attraction to the brunette. An attraction he'd repressed for the sake of his friendship with Clark. To his delight, Lana had given him a son two years ago. They'd named him Alexander Clark Luthor. And his son was the light of his life.

As he watched his best friend take his vows with Lois, Lex smiled. Life was good.


End file.
